These 3 underrated supporting characters were unsung heroes of The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead saw no shortage of supporting characters in Sheriff Rick’s inner group. Many went on to fulfill integral roles as leaders, warriors, and mentors, while others stood in the shadows, simply surviving as long as possible. Of the oft-dismissed supporting characters, few made a lasting impact on the group, with an unceremonious exit at that. Whether they died too soon, made enemies of themselves, or offered too little too late, these underappreciated characters undeniably influenced the course of everyone’s favorite survivors.

Merle Dixon

As the most unsuspecting of saviors (not to be confused with Saviors), Merle’s journey to quiet heroics was fraught with contention. It’s true that, after being left for dead on a rooftop, he gave his loyalty to an unquestionable villain. That’s what made the events that followed truly remarkable for the character that fans love to hate.

Set aside the fact that Merle is just about as unlikeable as characters get, and one can understand how heroes are often deeply flawed. Consider his relationship with Michonne. While carrying out the Governor’s mission to hunt her, The Most Dangerous Game style, Merle acquired both a nose-breaking kick to the face and a personal vendetta.

Yet, when tasked a second time with delivering her to the Governor, by the morally rigid sheriff of all people, his mercenary persona faltered. Certain that his past deeds barred him from a cozy cell in the gang’s C block, he cut away both Michonne’s binds and those of his guaranteed survival. At that moment, Merle secured his quiet triumph over villainy.

By sending Michonne back to the prison’s defenses, he unknowingly delivered the gang’s victory over Woodbury, however uncertain it seemed to be. What’s more, he knowingly walked to his death in the hopes of eliminating the Governor once and for all. True, his loyalty resided solely with Daryl, but Merle’s about-face ensured more than his brother’s survival. His sacrifice kept the door open for the two other most enduring characters in the series.

Owen (Leader of the Wolves)

Whether acknowledged or not, fans of Carl owe his survival under the Wolves' siege to Owen. Though hell bent on reaping and destroying, Owen’s last-minute change of heart was the reason for Carl’s recovery by Alexandria’s sole doctor. His surprising shift in morality (even if self-serving) was one of the show’s more subtle illustrations of the credo, “You get to come back.”

Although Morgan’s continued urges to see that “all life is precious” fell on Owen’s deaf ears, it seems that those words sank in when (doctor) Denise, Carl, and all of Alexandria needed them most. While holding Denise hostage for her healing services, Owen actively attempted to sway her toward his way of life. From checkpoint to checkpoint of the walker-breeched haven, his objective was not only treatment by Denise but also to demonstrate the futility of safety in the community.

One might argue that the latter was the greater driving force. Surely Owen could have simply waited out the hordes of walkers and, without resistance, found his own way to the infirmary. So, when Denise was in danger of becoming a snack for the undead, what prompted his intervention? It might have been the promise of patching himself up, or it might have been that human stubbornness at play when imposing one’s will.

Perhaps the least likely scenario was the case. When Owen strode in to save Denise, he risked his own safety and earned a wound more fatal than the first. However unlikely, it is possible that somewhere in his mind, “all life is precious” called out to him. In the end, Owen’s motivations were left to mystery, which made his unsung heroics all the more celebratory. For without Denise’s arrival at the infirmary, raging Rick Grimes might have instead let his hatchet lie alongside his fallen son.

Dwight

In a true “will he, won’t he” fashion, Dwight kept the Grimes group and viewers alike in suspense over his alignment with the Saviors. Considering his tragic history with Negan, one could conceivably see his path going in either direction. All told, he sacrificed his wife, pride, safety (excepting that of his face’s bad side), and security as an instrument of the group’s upper hand over Negan (and all other “Negans” involved).

Daryl’s first encounter with Dwight ended in betrayal. Instead of taking a chance on Daryl’s offer for community, Dwight and his wife, Sherry, decided to return to the devil they knew. Worse, they returned with Daryl’s bike and crossbow, leaving him stranded in the woods. As they pulled away, barely able to look Daryl in the eye, Sherry uttered a meek, “We’re sorry.” When he responded, “You’re gonna be,” he certainly envisioned a more direct path than the one before him.

Alas, Daryl’s second encounter with Dwight was far from the retribution he promised. On the return from a supply run, Denise had just been shot through the eye with one of Daryl’s stolen arrows. Daryl and Rosita were suddenly swarmed by Saviors, and a captured Eugene was forced to a kneel by the crossbow wielding Dwight. For the second time, betrayal. The key difference was that Dwight’s motives were clearly more nefarious. Another notable change was the scar he bore on one side of his face, suggesting that his return to Negan cemented in Dwight a rigid philosophy. To preserve the rest of his hide, he needed to be power’s right-hand man.

Thus, when Daryl’s eventual imprisonment at The Sanctuary ended by escape, the seeds of doubt were sown in Dwight’s mind. A belief was awakened in him, one that Negan did well to snuff out: somewhere beyond The Sanctuary and its outposts existed a power greater than the Saviors.
Up to that point, he only harbored a motive for Negan’s demise. Yet, when Daryl was liberated from his cell, so too was the means for Dwight’s escape, so long as he was willing to act on his newfound belief. Fortunately for him and for Alexandria, he did so with the cunning ability to play the part of both “Negan” and a traitor. He found opportunities left and right, weakening the Savior’s defenses little by little.

Although he failed to successfully ambush Negan’s ambush, he was successful in the most crucial turn of events. When confronted by a double-crosser and staunch “Negan” recruit Eugene, Dwight managed to defend his role as a traitor and, more impressively, he managed to tease out the courage deep inside the coward. Without Dwight’s encouragement, Eugene likely would have clung to his guaranteed safety above all else. Fortunately for all (except Negan), Dwight’s words eventually took root, transforming Eugene into a triple-crosser and ammunition saboteur.

Although his heroics were stained by prior betrayals, and although his good deeds went without praise, Dwight’s return to humanity was undoubtedly the key to Negan’s downfall. Far from the hero’s welcome his actions might have warranted, he received the equally warranted banishment from Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom. What’s more, he accepted his fate with gratitude after kneeling in wait for his execution. If ever a villain could earn the status of unsung hero, Dwight would be the most worthy.